Walking Shoes – What To Look For

The first thing to look for is flexibility. You should be able to twist and bend this shoes the same way your foot will twist and bend the shoe as you go through your walking motion.

Flat Heels

Your walking shoes should have relatively flat heels.

The heels of your walking shoes should not be flared. They should be flat or even undercut because you will be striking with the heel first in your walking stride.

How to Try on Walking Shoes

Bring your walking socks when you go to try on your new Walking shoes.

You will need to order the right size shoes. Generally that means you want to order your new shoes one half size to a full size larger than your dress shoes since you feet will swell while walking.

If you can, go walking before you try on new shoes so your feet will have swelled to their walking size.

Your shoes should feel perfect from the very beginning. Do not buy any shoe that does not feel perfect thinking you will wear them in. You don’t want your foot to fight its way into a shoe.

If you have narrow high arched feet, make sure you find shoes that have widths to accommodate your needs.

Your should feel no obstruction or touch that wears or rubs against any part of the foot. If you do feel anything, try another pair. You want to avoid blisters at all costs.

How to Test Walking Shoes

Here is a list of things to do to test out shoes before purchase.

Twist Test – Take the shoe, hold it with both hands and twist it in opposite directions. It should have enough flexibility to twist a little.

Bend Test - Bend the shoe in half from heel to toe. It should bend at the ball of the foot. That is how a walking shoe should bend.

Push Test – Put the shoe down on a flat surface and push down on the toe. The heel should rise up off the flat surface in the same way your natural rolling motion will take the shoe when you walk.

Low Heel Test- Your walking shoe should have a low heel no more than an inch higher that the sole under the ball of your foot.

Even or Undercut Heel Test – Make sure the heel of the shoe is flat with no flare in it at all. It is even better if the heel is undercut at the back so that you get a better strike or landing when you roll through your walking step.

What’s Right For You

The key is to find a shoe that fits your particular walking and foot profile. So you should know what kind of foot you have, high arch or flat foot or something in between. And then look at the different characteristics mentioned earlier and run through the tests just outlined.

Do your research and make sure you know what you need and then find the model of walking shoe that fits that need.